Rhythm of the Jungle
by EgilMaster365
Summary: Following the events of "Now What?", Blu is finally ready to settle down and start a life with his new mate. Fun and excitement are in store for the last Blue Spix Macaws, but is starting a new life really going to be this easy? Special Guest Star: Rico the Black Hawk
1. Chapter 1: Classic

It looks like our feathered friends have had quite a bit of excitement recently; Smuggling, snakes, movies. But what's life without the unexpected? If anything it helped make our favorite lovebird's bond stronger. Don't believe me? Well, how about we take a look at what they're up to then?

**Copacabana Beach**

A level jumbo sized Frisbee was positioned on top of the sand. The beach was dark and quiet. Hundreds of birds were surrounding the circular piece of plastic, eagerly waiting for something to happen. A few moments of pure excitement and anticipation spent in complete silence passed. Then out of nowhere a small yellow canary with a bottle cap for a hat hopped onto the Frisbee. Apparently it was being used as some sort of stage. A spotlight shone on the miniature bird. He cleared his voice and started to whistle his one of his favorite tunes, "Fly Love".

However, he didn't get too far into his little song as a tubby cardinal jumped onto the stage and landed next to the canary.

"Hey! Where's the drums?" Pedro the cardinal shouted, and after doing so a spotlight illuminated a small band comprised of different bird species on the back end of the stage.

The yellow canary named Nico took this as his cue and started singing.

"Oh whoa-oh-oh-oh"

Pedro quickly jumped in the air and shouted.

"Let's go!"

_[Nico:]_

_Ooh girl you're shining_

_Like a 5th avenue diamond_

_And they don't make you like they used to_

_You're never going out of style_

_Ooh pretty baby_

_This world might've gone crazy_

_The way you save me_

_Who can blame me_

_When I just wanna make you smile?_

Just then a dozen of multi-colored spotlights started shining and moving around over the audience.

_[Nico:]_

_I wanna thrill you like Michael_

_[Pedro:]_

_I wanna kiss you like Prince_

_[Nico:]_

_Let's get it on like Marvin Gaye_

_[Pedro:]_

_Like Hathaway_

_[Both:]_

_Write a song for you like this_

About a foot away from the stage were the last two blue spix macaws. The two were dancing facing each other, enjoying every second with their respective "one and only".

_[Nico:]_

_You're over my head_

_I'm out of my mind_

_Thinking I was born in the wrong time_

_One of a kind, living in a world gone plastic_

_Baby you're so classic_

_Baby you're so classic_

_Baby you,_

_Baby you're so classic_

Blu grabbed Jewel and started spinning her around. Jewel giggled in delight. She then started spinning away from Blu. The blue macaw then slowed down and regained her footing. Jewel looked towards center stage and watched in amazement as the duo continued singing their song. She was always impressed by their singing abilities. Jewel looked back at Blu and couldn't help but smile when she saw the way he was dancing.

"Blu, what are you doing?" She chuckled.

Blu was dancing around like a rusty tin soldier toy. He looked up at Jewel.

"I'm doing the robot."

Back on stage Pedro slid in front of Nico and started rapping.

_[Pedro:]_

_Baby you're class and baby you're sick_

_I never met a girl like you ever til we met_

_A star in the 40s, centrefold in the 50s_

_Got me tripping out like the sixties_

_Hippies Queen of the discotheque_

_A 70s dream and an 80s best_

_Hepburn, Beyoncé, Marilyn, Massive_

_Girl you're timeless, just so classic_

Nico looked into the croud and recognized his favorite blue macaws.

"Hey Bluey! Baby bird! Get up here!" He shouted while signaling with his wing. Blu and Jewel looked at each other rand then flew up onto the Frisbee.

_[Nico:]_

_You're over my head I'm out of my mind_

_Thinking I was born in the wrong time_

_It's love on rewind,_

_Everything is so throwback-ish ( [Pedro:] I kinda like it, like it)_

_Out of my league_

_Old school chic_

_Like a movie star_

_From the silver screen_

_[Both:]_

_You're one of a kind living in a world gone plastic_

_Baby you're so classic_

_Baby you're so classic_

_Baby you're so classic_

As the music stopped, Blu threw Jewel into the air and confetti shot up out of the ground.

The four birds met in the middle of the disk.

"That was so much fun!" Jewel ecstatically squealed.

"Yo that was poppin'!" Pedro added.

"You two got it! Like fire and ice!" Nico chirped as he bounced up, almost losing his bottle cap.

"And cheese and sprinkles!" Blu said with a smile on his beak.

"Just like cheese and sprinkles." Jewel cooed, and then pecked Blu on the beak.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few feet away the lonely Paris was watching the four birds.

"Yuck." Paris grumbled. He opened his beak and pointed into it with his wingtip. The Cuban red macaw looked around and noticed that the crowd was thinning out.

"I need a drink. Better get to the club before everyone else does." He mumbled to himself as he took off towards the samba club.

Upon entering the club, the sudden burst of sound coming from various birds struck his earholes. Everyone was circled around the center of the club. Normally all the birds in the club would be dancing or sitting at the bar, not really focused in one area. Paris decided he had to get to the bottom of this. As the macaw made his way to where all of commotion was coming from, he managed to overhear parts of other birds' conversations.

"I heard he drank a whole bottle of vodka in under thirty seconds!"

"Rumor has it, his liver is made of steel."

"I heard someone say he's an escaped experiment."

Paris was baffled. What bird could possibly live up to these standards? A loud cheer started as the many birds in the club began pumping their first in the air.

"RICO, RICO, RICO!"

Paris pushed two yellow macaws out of his way, and after doing so could finally see this apparently infamous bird.

Rico has his back to Paris, and was just finishing a small bottle of beer. His head was leaned back the bottom of the bottle was in the air. After the last drop entered his beak, Rico swallowed and sighed with content.

"Ahhhh, beer."

"Hey, what do think you're doing? I think some other birds may want something to drink!" Paris antagonistically protested, the feathers on the back of his neck ruffled up.

Rico slowly turned around to see who was yelling at him. He arched a curious brow.

Paris stormed up to Rico.

"You know, there are other birds around. And you can't drink up everything!" He groused.

Rico lightly, almost undetectably, smirked.

"Well you are more than welcome to join me." The black hawk offered.

"Join you!? I'll do better than that! I'll beat you! I bet I can drink more than you!" Paris snarled.

"Beat me? Oh, I'm so scared." Rico sarcastically replied.

**10 minutes later**

There was a buzz around the club. Someone actually challenged Rico to a drinking contest. Could the black hawk actually be beat? A table was crudely fashioned and on it were two rows of cups. One row was for Rico, while the other was for Paris. A military macaw walked out from the crowd and to the two birds.

"Ok, the rules are simple. The first bird to finish drinking their row of drinks wins. There is a safe combination of fruit juice and alcoholic beverages so no one gets hurt. Any questions?"

Rico raised his wing.

"Yes Rico?"

"Is there whiskey?" The hawk inquired.

"Um no. We already had enough drinks." The macaw replied.

"Any other questions?" The macaw asked again.

"Yeah, is there a prize?" Rico queried.

"No, not yet. What did you have in mind?" The macaw replied.

"Can it be whiskey?"

"Oh come on, are you gonna drink or talk about drinking!?" Paris interjected, impatiently tapping his talon.

Rico stared at Paris and narrowed his eyes. "Bring it hot head."

The military macaw cleared his voice.

"Ok, ready...set…drink!"

Rico went straight for the first cup. He grabbed it in his talon and started drinking. After a second his eyes widened and he started coughing.

"Ach! Eww, light beer."

Rico glanced up and saw that Paris was already half way through his apple juice.

"Oh Biscuits."

* * *

**Back at the beach**

Blu and Jewel were still dancing together on the beach. The two moved in perfect rhythm while the music played.

_At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)_

_The hottest spot north of Havana (here)_

_At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana_

_Music and passion were always the fashion_

_At the Copa...don't fall in love_

As the song came to an end, Blu twirled Jewel around before pulling her into a hug.

"Dancing with my Lovehawk never gets old." Jewel happily cooed while nuzzling her head into Blu's chest.

Blu warmly smiled.

"Yeah, I love you Je-"

Blu was cut off by the sound of singing.

"eVerYbodY…loVes *hiccup* somBadY sUmtiMes."

The two lovebirds looked up to see a black hawk dragging a drunk Paris, who was singing horribly, by the scruff. Blu and Jewel just stared at the two birds as they slowly made their way towards them. Rico stopped in front of Blu.

"This guy is yours, right?" He asked with a smirk.

"Uh, yeah. W-what happened to him?" Blu inquired, shocked as to what would cause Paris to end up like this.

Rico shrugged, put Paris down, and stepped away.

"Let's just say he messed with a hawk, and his beer." The hawk explained as he crossed with wings.

Blu and Jewel glanced at each other and then back at Rico.

"Now if you'll excuse me, there's a whiskey with my name on it." Rico happily stated while bowing. He promptly took off into the night sky. Jewel looked down at Paris, who now had passed out. Blu watched the hawk flying away.

"_I wonder who that was." _Blu thought, but was soon interrupted by Nico.

"Awww, not again!" The canary whined.

"Dang! We gotta drag him home again?" Pedro commiserated.

Blu chuckled, viewing the whole scenario as kind of funny.

"Hey Blu, you wanna go home? I think it's about time we got some sleep." Jewel groggily stated.

Blu turned his head towards his mate and smiled.

"Yeah, let's go home." He replied and prepared to take off alongside his precious Jewel.

"Mama, just five more minutes." A voice called out.

The two blue macaws looked back to see Nico and Pedro desperately fluttering with Paris' beak and tail being held in their respective talons.

* * *

After a few minutes of flying, Blu and Jewel arrived back at their tree hollow. They collapsed into their nest, tired from a long night of dancing. Jewel was lying on Blu's right, snuggled in with her mate's wings around her. She looked up at Blu.

"That's was fun. We should do that again sometime." Jewel yawned as her head sunk into Blu's side.

"Yeah" Blu replied.

He leaned his head to the side and watched the night stars twinkle through the aperture in his tree.

_"I love my new live. I can't believe I was scared to come here." _Blu thought to himself.

"I love you Jewel, goodnight."

"Goodnight lovehawk"

* * *

**A special thanks to Rico the Black Hawk for giving me permission to use his OC. Song credit goes to "C****lassic MKTO" and "Copacabana" ****Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of "Rhythm of the jungle." Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the next update!**


	2. Chapter 2: Hide and Seek

**Hey everyone. Sorry it so darn long for the next update. School is just crazy. But the important part is that I'm back with chapter 2! Yay!**

* * *

About 2 months ago

"Oh man! I'm never gonna get this ash outta my feathers!" Vinny the red fronted macaw snarled as he walked through the jungle. He attempted preening himself, but to no avail.

"Oh ssssshut up! What do you think you were getting into anyway? Did you really ttttthink those macawsssss were gonna give you an easssssy time?" Anna the copperhead snake retorted.

"Whatever Anni, I'd be more concerned with saving my slimy butt if I were you." Vinny replied as he took off and flew up onto a nearby branch. A faint cloud of smoke followed in his wake.

Anna narrowed her eyes and started hissing angrily.

"Lisssssten you pipssssssqueak. If we weren't working togettttther, I'd..I'd"

"You'd what?" Vinny interjected. He chuckled lightly.

"Kill me?" He sarcastically queried before smirking.

"THAT, would be the mistake of your life missy."

Anna, now infuriated, unhinged her jaw and revealed her fangs. Her eyes dilated as her instincts took over.

"Try me." The copperhead rattled.

"Oy!" A frighteningly familiar voice echoed through the jungle. The snake and macaw duo scanned the vicinity, searching for the source of the sound.

"Up here you idiots!" The Australian accented voice commanded.

Anna and Vinny shot their heads up to see two menacing eyes glistening through the darkness of an adjacent tree hollow.

"Are you two Drongos going to sit there on your lazy rears or do I have to come down and get you!?"

The bird and the snake quickly exchanged glances. Both being mutually afraid of the bird in the hollow, they put aside their little quarrel to save their hides. Vinny promptly grabbed Anna in his talons, and flew them both up to the hollow in which their fear-inducing leader resided.

Once the two minions arrived in the tree interior, they looked around for their boss.

"Um, s-s-s-s-sir?" Anna nervously mumbled.

"Do you two bludgers know how hard it is to keep this operation running?"

Vinny opened his beak to respond, but his boss stepped out of the shadows. This caused a lump to form in the red fronted macaw's throat and prevented him from speaking.

Anna and Vinny's boss was an intimidating bird; standing 1' 5" the Galah Cockatoo towered above most other birds. He had a metallic right talon, and a scar that ran from above his left eye and across his beak. The cockatoo's chest feathers were a dull pink, with the occasional grey plumage cropping up.

"I thought not." The Galah grumbled as he paced across throughout the hollow, his metal talon clanking on the hard floor.

"In case you two morons forgot, we work to keep the jungle a better place. And to do this, we need to eliminate…oh how do you say…dangerous birds." He continued, but stopped in front of Vinny. The cockatoo stared intensely into the macaw's eyes.

"But when SOME of us fail to do their part…like killing a SIMPLE LITTLE BLUE BIRD!" The intimidating bird started yelling, encroaching upon the red fronted macaw's space.

"THE BALANCE IS THROWN OFF!" He exclaimed and gripped Vinny by the throat with his left talon. Vinny's legs dangled as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. The cockatoo slowly moved his beak next to Vinny's ear hole.

"One simple little thing is all I want. That's it. I just ask that you kill one male blue spix macaw, and what do I get? Hm?" The pink bird whispered.

"Ach..sir…yo-you're…ch…chok…ach…" Vinny then passed out and went limp from the lack of oxygen.

The Australian leader then slammed the macaw on the ground before turning and walking back into the darkness. Anna promptly slithered next to Vinny, scared regarding his current physical state.

"Nothing but weakness." The large predator groused from within the shadows.

* * *

Present Time

Jewel was perched on a tree situated right next to an open window of "Livraria Blu". She stood erect and took a deep, content, breath.

"_Ahhh, nothing like a breath of fresh air to calm-"_

"NO!" The panicked sound of her mate rang. Jewel's eyes popped open.

"Blu?"

"Nonononononononon! Please don't kill meeeeeee!" Blu screamed.

"Blu! Don't worry Blu I'm coming!" Jewel shouted as she darted from her branch into the open windows. The female macaw soared through the upper levels of the bookstore until she reached the staircase. Jewel dive-bombed down, and, just before she collided with the laminated floor she swooped up. The female macaw shot forwards a few centimeters above the ground. Jewel took a quick turn into the living room to find Blu lying face down on the carpet. The word moved in slow motion as Jewel stared at the limp body of her mate.

"No, Blu." She gasped.

Jewel slowly flew over to Blu, not looking at anything else as she did so. A thin film a water formed over her eyes as thoughts raced through her mind.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Ready or not! HERE-I-COME!" Blu shouted as he stood up and got into a proper fighting stance.

Little peeps and giggles could be heard from throughout the room. Blu, too engrossed in what he was doing, didn't notice Jewel's distraught expression. Instead he lashed his head towards a nearby lamp. The male macaw shot towards it and gripped the bottom lip of the lampshade with his talons. Blu then flipped upside down and hung like a vampire.

"Gotchya!" He chuckled and grabbed a small toucan from inside the lampshade.

"Oh do you?" The chick smugly retorted.

Then out of nowhere another small toucan flew out from behind the couch and screamed.

"ATTACK!"

Numerous little toucan chicks flew out of their hiding spots and set their sights on Blu.

"Oh Cheese a-"

Blu was pummeled by Rafael's kids and plummeted to the ground.

The blue macaw and the chicks laughed and rolled around on the carpeted floor.

Jewel sniffed a little and smiled. Blu was really doing well with Rafi's demonic children. Then a though raced through her head. _"Was it time to have kids of their own?"_

"Ok kids it's time to go home!" The warm sound of the toucan father resounded. All of the toucan chicks' heads popped up and they whined in unison.

"AWWWW. Can't we play with uncle Blu more?"

Just then Eva flew in through an open window.

"You kids better listen to your father!" She shrieked.

Before the mother toucan finished her sentence all of her children darted off of Blu and flew next to their father.

As the Rafael and his family took off to head back home, Eva turned around and addressed the two blue lovebirds.

"Thank you two for watching our chicks!" She thanked.

Blu walked next to Jewel and waved goodbye to Eva.

"No problem guys!"

Blu and Jewel watched as their friends flew away, now leaving them alone.

Blu turned to Jewel, still with a smile on his face. However, the smile dropped when he noticed that Jewel's eyes were a little red; almost as if she was upset about something.

"Jewel…are you ok?" Blu genuinely inquired.

Jewel blinked a few times, and assured Blu.

"Yes Blu. I'm fine, don't worry about me." Jewel answer, trying to disregard his question.

Blu didn't buy the act and knew something was bugging her. However, knowing that pushing Jewel isn't always the best course of action, he let it go.

"O-ok." He simply replied. Blu then put his wing around Jewel and pulled her closer.

"So what does my Gem of the Jungle want to do for the rest of the day?" Blu queried.

Jewel put a wingtip to her beak.

"Hmmm. Well, I am a little hungry." She answered.

"Your wish is my command your majesty." Blu chuckled before bowing like a noblebird.

"Now may this bird escort you to the kitchen?" Blu continued, extending a bent wing like an elbow.

Jewel giggle in response, and pecked Blu on the beak.

"You shall."

* * *

** And that's a wrap folks! Thanks for the awesome reviews and for reading! It looks like there's a new villain, and Anna and Vinny are still alive. There are still unanswered questions. But for now, how about we let Blu and Jewel have a snack. Until next time,**

**Egil out!**


	3. Chapter 3: Midday Snackastrophy

"Hmmm, food…food" Blu mumbled to himself from within the refrigerator.

"Blu, are you sure this is safe?" Jewel, who was standing on a granite island across from the refrigerator, called out. She was a little anxious about the whole cold-rectangle-box-thingly.

"Of course it's safe, I did it all the time back home in Minnesota!" Blu chirped as he popped his head out of the fridge.

"When I was a chick I used to play in here and pretend I was on the tv show lost in space." Blu said aloud, mainly to himself, as he pushed a bottle of Pepsi out of the way.

Jewel just cocked her head in confusion. Blu's references to old 60's television series lost her. After a few seconds, she shrugged it off and accepted the ways of her nerdy lovehawk.

A minute or two of silence passed before Blu flew out of the metallic cold box, carrying an assortment of miscellaneous food products. In his left talon was a small box of Turkish delight, while in his right was a bag a grapes. He was also carrying a small bag of Crêpe batter in his beak.

Jewel just giggled as she watched Blu struggle to carry all of the human foods. Landing with a thud, Blu dropped all of his accumulated snacks before taking off again to close the fridge doors. While he was doing so, Jewel walked up to the curious assortment of foods; none of which really looked appetizing besides the grapes.

"Oh, oh, aaaannnd." Blu enthusiastically peeped as he landed on the countertop. Jewel looked up to see Blu carrying a large apple.

"Ta da!" Blu happily extended "jazz-wings" towards the apple.

Jewel smirked.

"An apple?"

"Not just _any_ apple. It's a KIKU!" Blu euphorically explained.

Jewel arched a curious brow.

"It's been engineered to be 10x sweeter than any normal apple. I bet you don't have THAT in the jungle." Blu proudly flaunted.

"I'll admit, food doesn't come packaged like this in the jungle." Jewel partially conceded, with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"But what happened to just going out and grabbing a snack off a tree? There's nothing wrong with that." She added.

"Yeah, but, but I already brought this stuff out…and"

"Ok, ok…we'll eat your food." Jewel interrupted chuckling.

"Yes! Now, allow Chef Blu to prepare a 5 star dining experience!" Blu chirped as he flew around the kitchen, gathering pots and pans and anything else he needed.

10 minutes later, Blu was deeply engrossed in his culinary "masterpiece". Going slightly overboard, he was sautéing his KIKU apple slices in a medium pot while his Crêpe batter sizzled in an adjacent pan. The box of Turkish delights were already spread out on a small serving platter near Jewel. While Blu was perched on the kitchen faucet, cleaning his grapes, Jewel walked up to the odd snack in front of her. She picked up the foreign food, and examined it. Turning it around and inspecting the various angles, she became lost in the unfamiliar white coated treat.

Meanwhile, Blu had just finished rinsing off the green grapes he had harvested from the fridge and was flying back with them in tow. As the macaw returned to his mate, a stray bead of water dropped off of a grape and landed next to the knob regulating the temperature of the Crêpe. Due to a small fissure in the glass countertop, the water droplet slid under the plastic casing and worked its way inside the inner mechanism of the knob. Somehow, the water short circuited the system. This cause the heat emanating from the countertop to increase exponentially.

"You like those things?" Blu asked, disturbing Jewel from her thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, oh I haven't tried one yet." Jewel replied as she shook herself out of her musings.

"Those thing are really yummy. Take a bite." Blu insisted. He walked next to Jewel to see how she reacted to the delights.

The female macaw lifted the Turkish food up to her opened beak and nibbled a little. She pushed it around in her beak a little, rubbing the food against her taste buds. The sweet sensation danced on her pallet like no fruit ever had before.

"Mmmmmmm." Jewel hummed in approval.

Blu smirked.

"See, I told you they were good. Now just wait until you try Hot Choc-"

Blu stopped talking when a smoky odor hit his olfactory senses.

*sniff* *sniff*

"Jewel? Do, do you smell something…burning?"

Blu, having his back towards the food he was prepping, was unaware of the threat.

Jewel eyes grew. She stuttered as she pointed behind her mate.

"B-B-BLU!"

Blu turned around to see his Crêpe up in flames.

"AHHHH! Fire! Don't worry Jewel, I can handle it." Blu screamed as he ran towards the burning food. Unfortunately, due to his clumsiness, Blu stumbled on the bag of grapes he had brought with him, letting all of the green little marbles free to roll over the counter. Jewel covered her beak in shock as she watched her mate trip over the dozens of little green ovals. Now after losing his balance, Blu stepped on the pan handle. This caused the Crêpe to fly into the air and the pan to flip up, hitting Blu on the beak in the process. Stunned by the blow to the face, Blu lazily watched his burning creation soar through the sky. As if fate had it out for Blu, the pancake-like disk slammed into a precariously perched blender. The male macaw's face dropped as he witnessed the blender and its flammable passenger fall onto the laminate wood flooring.

_**CRASH**_

Blu stood in defeat watching the small flame on his Crêpe dwindle. Jewel sighed and took this as her cue to comfort her companion. Carefully avoiding the scattered grapes across the countertop, she made her way towards the sullen macaw.

"Hey Blu, its ok." Jewel said comfortingly as she walked next to Blu from behind.

"I'm sorry Jewel. I-I thought I could do something nice for you, but all I did was mess everything up. I guess I'm not the best provider ever…huh." Blu sighed as he turned his head towards Jewel.

"Awww Blu." Jewel cooed. She rested her head on her lovehawk's shoulder, with on side of her face buried in his feathers while the other was lateral. She looked at him through her one eye that was facing upwards.

"You're a great provider. I mean, what girl has a mate that do all this for her just for a snack?" She happily reminded him.

"You deserve it Jewel. You deserve the best." Blu smiled warmly as he stroked Jewel's crown with his beak.

After a few moments of enjoying being caressed by her love, the female blue macaw lifted her head up and turned towards a nearby cutting board. She reached for a slice of an apple with her talon and offered it to Blu.

"kuku?"

* * *

**15 Minutes Later**

On a coffee table in Linda's living room, the two lovebird were sitting enjoying their meal. Jewel finally had her snack. She was munching on some delicious Turkish delight. The confection sugar coated her talons. Across from her Blu was nibbling on his favorite apple, the KIKU.

"Mmmm, so sweet." Blu hummed as he enjoyed his treat.

"Hey Blu, what tree grows these things?" Jewel inquired regarding where the sugary food she was eating comes from.

Blu got excited and hopped up.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. Legend has it Turkish delights originated in the Ottoman Empire back in the 18th century." Blu began, waving his half eaten slice of KIKU around like a professor giving a lecture.

"_Oh no, not this again. I shouldn't have asked."_ Jewel sulked in her mind.

* * *

About a kilometer away from the bookstore, a military macaw by the name of Carla was flying through the city.

"Wow, what a pretty day. Almost as pretty as me, hehe." Carla said to herself.

As she was scoping out the scenery around her, she got a brief glimpse though a nearby window. Inside were two blue birds. One of them seemed familiar to Carla however.

"Wait, I know that bird from som-"

So lost in thoughts, Carla was not paying attention to in front of her and she slammed into a light pole. The momentum in her wings and legs were not affected, so her appendages continued moving forward without her. This caused them to wrap around the pole.

"Ow. Gotta remember, don't think and fly." She mumbled to herself as her beak had slammed into the metallic pole.

Then gravity took hold and slowly caused Carla to skid down to the base of the lighting instrument, creating a screeching sound along the way. Once at the base the military macaw slowly got up and walked away. She did her best to brush off the embarrassing incident and look cool.

"Achm, hehe, nothing to see here folks. Nope, no need to be worried. Everything's under control." She announced to no one in particular, and gave a wings-up.

Two nearby pigeons were perched on the roof of a building.

"Hey, bob. You know what that lunatic is talking about?" One pigeon asked the other.

The other pigeon slowly turned towards his counterpart with narrowed eyes.

"Do I look like I care? Go marry her if you're so interested." He retorted, obviously not caring about what Carla was doing.

"Whatever Bob." The first pigeon snorted.

Back with the military macaw, Carla was trying to remember who this blue macaw was. She paced back and forth on the concrete pavement, tapping her head with her wing.

"_Oh man, I'm usually good with names and birds. And flying. And Thinking."_ She thought.

"Today's not a good day for me."

Just then an idea popped into her head. She clicked her wings.

"That's it! I'll just ask him! That'll clear it up." Carla happily said out loud.

The macaw then took flight back towards the bookstore she had passed a few moments ago. Carla arrived in front of the window. She could see Blu still lecturing Jewel on the history of the Turkish food.

"…and that's when the king of Portugal decided to make Turkish delights th-"

_**BANG**_

A reverberating sound echoed through the room.

"_Oh thank goodness!"_ Jewel was elated that something came along to stop her nerdy Blu from rambling on about the small treat. After all this time he STILL didn't answer her question.

"Uh Jewel?" Blu nervously asked.

Jewel turned towards the direction Blu was facing to see a military macaw plastered against the window to the bookstore.

"I gotta stop flying into things." The bird mumbled from the other side. She soon started sliding down, generating a screeching sound as she did.

Blu and Jewel slowly turned their heads towards each other. On their faces were expression of bewilderment.

Jewel sighed.

"Do we ever get a day off?"

* * *

**There we go, chapter Midday Snackastrophy is done! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I really appreciate the flow of reviews you guys are giving me. It's very nice to hear from you all. Oh, and on a side note YootisPoshil is making a new mini story in his LS archive: "Birdie Beatdown". So go check that out if you want some thrilling action packed, uh, Birdie Beatdowns! Plus Egil the White Macaw is in it (that me XD)! Stay cool everyone, and I'll see you in the next chapy.**


	4. Chapter 4: Tulio's Patient

"Don't worry Jewel, I'll figure this out." Blu assured as he quickly flew over to the windows. Once the blue macaw arrived at the base of the glass force field, he undid a latch and pushed up the rectangle far enough for a small bird to fit through.

"Can-can we help you?" He inquired while holding the window up with his right talon.

The dazed military macaw lazily lifted her head off the windowsill and looked up at Blu. Her skull weaved side to side as if she were drunk.

"Hello Mr Oranngle Blird. What shape is it today?" Carla inquired, obviously shaken up from the slam into the hard glass.

Blu cocked his head and raised a curious brow.

"Uh, Jewel? Do you think Tulio is still at the aviary?" Blu called out to his mate.

Jewel immediately took off from the table on which she was currently perched and headed towards the male macaw.

"Probably, why...oh." Jewel's question was answered as soon as she saw the unstable military macaw.

"Yeah, I think we should-"

"H-hey Mr Blue Bird guy, hehe, you're kinda cute." Carla giggled while pointing at Blu.

Blu's eyes widened, and he fearfully looked over at his female counterpart. He could see that Jewel was piping mad.

"Oh boy". Blu mumbled as he covered his face with his wings.

* * *

**10 Minutes later**

"Hrrrg, man for one bird she sure is heavy." Jewel groused as she flapped her wings vigorously in order to keep the back half of the unconscious Carla airborne. Blu narrowed his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Jewel.

"You know, if you didn't knock her out we probably wouldn't have ended up carrying her like this." Blu unhappily reminded.

"Hey, I didn't 'knock her out' Blu, I yelled at her and she fell unconscious. So don't exaggerate. Anyway, I hope she learned a lesson because no one flirts with my bird...and that's that!" Jewel retorted as he fixed her clutch on the military macaw's talons.

Blu blushed a little, and thought how lucky he was to be with someone who loved him so much. Yet, as a side note, anger control lessons may be a good idea. The male spix macaw adjusted his grip on Carla's shoulders as he and his mate continued soaring over Rio. After a few more minutes of flight, the three birds finally arrived at the aviary.

Blu and Jewel dropped off Carla with Tulio and waited on a window sill as the ornithologist examined his new patient. The two lovebirds remained silent as they sat next to one another with their talons hanging over the ledge of the sill. Blu turned to his right and looked at his mate.

"Hey Jewel?" Blu said interrupting the silence.

His precious Jewel slowly turned her head.

"Hm?" She replied.

"You think everything's okay in there? Tulio has been gone for a while now." Blu asked as he stared at his talons while he stretched them. Blu had to admit, he felt a little nervous and guiltily for what happened to the macaw despite the fact they he really didn't do anything.

Jewel sighed and put a wing around Blu.

"I'm sure everything is find Bluey. You really gotta stop feeling so bad about everything. There are just some things you can't control." She soothed.

Blu opened his beak to say something, but never got the opportunity as Tulio had snuck up behind the two birds.

"Blu, Jewel. I need to talk to you about your friend." Tulio said, now accepting that somehow, someway it was possible to communicate with his avian friends. Well, at least Blu anyway…he was pretty domesticated. The bird doctor of Brazil turned and walked away from the window and over to a nearby counter island with a steel top.

The two birds noticed that Tulio sounded a little serious and wasted no time in flying over to meet him inside.

Blu and Jewel landed on the steel counter and stared up at the doctor. Tulio sighed and looked down at the spix macaws.

"Well, there's nothing physically wrong with her. Actually, she's quite healthy." He started pacing.

"But, but this is the strange part. I'm not an expert in this sort of thing, I mean I only took a course or two in psychology back in college, but your friend seems to be acting as if she suffered through a horrifying event…well…like PTS." Tulio finished as he scratched his head in confusion.

"It doesn't make any sense though, for a wild bird that is very uncommon."

Blu and Jewel looked at each other and immediately thought of who could have done this to Carla.

* * *

"**Nigel"**

An ominous voice mumbled from within a tree hollow deep in the forest of Rio. It belonged to none other than the fearsome Galah Cockatoo.

"Uh, uh w-who sir?" Mikey, a Buffon's macaw and one of the Cockatoo's minions, inquired.

"**Oy, tell me mate…how stupid are you?" **The Galah snarked as he talon-palmed (so to speak) his beak.

Mikey rubbed his chin.

"Hmm, well my mother always…whoa whoa whoa! I'm not your mate! You are sick bro, sick!" The Green macaw said in disgust jumping back a little.

The Cockatoo growled in frustration, growing tired quite quickly of Mikey's perceived incompetence.

"**Someone get this drongo AWAY, FROM, ME!"**

Just then two of the Galah's minions swooped in and grabbed Mikey by the wings with their battle sharpened talons.

"Hey hey hey! Watch it fellas, I just got my feathers waxed. You know, the ladies like shiny feathers." Mikey chuckled to himself as the two henchmen pulled him away.

"Okay, me and my buddies are gonna go for a walk it looks like! Bye master Xavier!" The green macaw called out as he was dragged away.

Xavier the Cockatoo shuttered as he wondered what he ever did to deserve such an idiot minion.

"**If he wasn't such a good shoeshine I would have killed him years ago." **He sighed.

Xavier walked to the ledge of his hollow and looked out over his secluded region of the forest.

"**Nigel my brother, soon you will be avenged. Heh, so enjoy yourself macaw. Because no amount of luck is going to save you Blu."**

* * *

**Dun dun dun! Hey everyone, sorry about the long break in updates. I hope that it doesn't happened again, and I will try to update more frequently. I really would like to thank those who keep reading my stories even during this update "drought" you are all awesome. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing! I am going to add the next chapter to Epix next and then will be back to this story. See you all soon!**

**-Egil**


	5. Chapter 5: Surprise!

"Even though Nigel is dead, he's still making our lives hard." Blu sighed. He and Jewel were sitting on the arm of a leather chair in a snack room.

Jewel gave Blu a sad yet understanding smile while caressing his back with her wing.

"Listen, Blu. What happened to that bird isn't your fault. Its Nigel's. And you already took care of him. Hm?" Jewel attempted to reassure as she pulled her mate in for a side hug.

Blu looked into his love's turquoise eyes.

"But Jewel, that's the thing. I…I wish it didn't have to come to that with Nigel. Sure, he tried to capture us. But he didn't know any better. That was how he was raised. Just like how I was raised domesticated, he was made to be a killing machine." Blu sighed.

"I, I just wish there could have been another way." The male macaw stated.

Jewel cocked her head and pulled away from Blu.

"Woah, wait a second. Are you saying you actually feel bad for that crazy cockatoo? Blu! He tried to kill us! I'm sorry but that wasn't anyone fault but his. He wasn't being forced to do the things he did, that was all him. And he deserved what came." Jewel, a little irritated, replied with some annoyed laughter.

Blu looked down at his talons and exhaled deeply.

"I know you're right Jewel. It's just hard for me. I wouldn't expect you to understand, but… I've spent most of my life in a nice warm house in Minnesota. Then all of a sudden I'm here in Rio. I mean, its all just a lot to take in. Sometimes its difficult… to, you know, think too hard about things." The spix macaw explained rubbing his left wing with his right.

"Oh Bluey" Jewel cooed.

Her mate looked up at her with soulful eyes.

"And sometimes I find it hard to think that I'm even with you. Sometimes I wonder if I even deserve you." After imparting this, Jewel got mad. She was annoyed at Blu for thing such a stupid thing. Of course they deserved each other. However, the female macaw cooled her temper and reassured her lover.

"Blu, we deserve each other. If we didn't, would I do this?" Just then Jeweled firmly pressed her beak into Blu's beak. They kissed for a moment or two. Blu broke the kiss and smiled warmly while staring at his precious Jewel.

"Hehe, yeah. I guess you're right." He conceded.

Jewel beamed. "Of course I am baby. I always am."

Blu chuckled to himself.

"I'll try to remember that."

Jewel rested her head on her mate's shoulder for a few seconds before a thought came to her mind.

"Hey, since Tulio is probably gonna keep that maniac for a while how about we pay the samba club a visit?" She recommended beaming from the thought of going out dancing.

"Yeah, that sounds great! It'll give me a chance to work on my moves." Blu happily agreed as he curled his wings and pretended to dance with maracas.

Jewel giggled watching her clumsy husband.

So the two macaws took off from the aviary towards the samba club. However, what they did not realize was that three beady pairs of eyes were watching their every move.

"So, what's the plan?" One of the eyes said, looking to its right at the middle pair.

The middle eyes looked out in the distance and its pupils shrank from fear.

"uhhhhhh" The middle pair had no idea.

The right most pair rolled its eyes.

"Morons"

"We follow them and wait for the universe's signal. Be one with the earth, and feel the opportunity. Just like Master Xavier said."

The other two eyes shook in agreement.

As the two spix birds flew through the sky, the male blue macaw looked over at his mate.

"Hey Jewel" Blu lovingly stated as he stared at Jewel's feathers rustling in the breeze.

"Yeah?" She casually replied, briefly glancing to her side before returning to looking in front of her.

"You mind if we take a quick break? Come on, follow me." Blu said and then dove down towards a nearby rooftop.

Puzzled by her husband's strange change of pace, Jewel promptly follower her love. After a few seconds the female macaw landed on the rooftop a few feet from Blu. His back was to her as he looked out over the city of Rio with its valleys and peaks made entirely out of buildings. It was now evening. The orange-yellow colored sun cast its rays over the city as if they were bars of transparent gold which warped as they extending from space to the steady ground. Looking past the city, one could see the nearby ocean forming a rippled mirror image of the world extending into the water with specks of golden light scattered about. The cool evening breeze brought over by the ocean winds cut through the once suffocating heat and allowed for a less suppressing atmosphere. Off to the far side of the city, a small trolley glided across a roadway which was carved into the side of cobblestone roadway. Jewel tilted her head slightly.

"Blu?" She calmly said with a hint of worry and intrigue in her voice.

"Is everything ok?"

"I was just thinking Jewel…" Blu trailed off.

"Hey hey hey" Jewel responded softly as she hopped over to Blu.

"I thought we talked about this. Hmm?" She said chuckling very lightly while smiling a little.

"No, I-Its not that." Blu answered without loosing his gaze at the city.

"Then what is it?" Jewel inquired as she rested her head on her mate's right wing.

Blu opened his beak to talk but instead sighed and closed his eyes. He soon reopened them and looked down at his love.

"Well…lately I've been really haunted by everything that's happened. And I've poured out everything to you, and you've been there for me and I really appreciate it."

Blu paused

"But you haven't really had any chance to talk about all this. I just want you to know if you have anything you need to talk with me about…I'm here."

At first Jewel was slightly irritated that Blu actually thought she was keeping things from him. But after thinking about it, there were thoughts and emotions she did hold back on sharing because she was worried as to how Blu would respond. Anyway, if you can't trust your mate… who can you trust? For so long Jewel has to live on her own. For so long she had to harden herself, separate herself from others, defend herself. And all that made it difficult to naturally share feelings. It was born out of necessity, a self defense tool. But now… It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to make the closest individual she has ever had feel alienated. Now was as good a time as any. Her eyes became watery. Jewel realized she needed to say something, something she has been holding back on saying for so long.

"Blu, I've been meaning to tell you this."

Blu's eyes lit up. "Yeah?"

"Its something I've really wanted to have, and I don't know if you want it too or not and if you don't that's fine I guess but I really wanted to ask…"

"Jewel, Jewel." Blu calmed as she held her close. He's never seen her _this_ nervous before. Jewel swallowed and exhaled.

"D-do you want to have –"

Just then a large dark bird swooped down and gripped Jewel by the throat, stopping her words. This bird then whacked blu out of the way. He slid to the ledge of the building.

"Ack" Jewel coughed in the strong grip of the large bird.

"Hey, hey guys we got the bird! Haha, that was easy!" The large bird chuckled with his deep and unintelligent voice.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever." A female macaw replied as she landed on the building with another smaller bird. All three birds wore masks to protect their respective identity.

"Just make sure you get the blue bird the boss asked for, k?" The smallest bird chimed in with a whine.

However, the kidnappers did not have much time to celebrate as an angry Jewel quickly clawed the belly of the bird that was holding her.

"Aaaahhhh!" The large bird bellowed. Jewel used this opportunity to make her escape from these freaks. Unfortunately, she didn't see Blu anywhere and she couldn't leave without him.

"Hey hey! Don't let her get away you idiots!" The female macaw yelled at her companions. The two vastly different sized birds took off in pursuit.

Jewel was a hovering target as she frantically searched for her mate. Just when she thought he had disappeared completely, Jewel saw the blue colored outline of a medium sized bird on the nearby floor. Blu must have fallen off the building and was unconscious. She was about to swoop down when she saw two menacing birds darting towards her. She turned towards the threat, ready to fight. She clenched her talon and shot at her target. The three birds zoomed at each other. When they were about a meter from one another, Jewel and her enemies extend their talons. Jewel knew she stood no chance taking the brute force method. So, a mere second before collision, the female macaw rotated 90 degrees about her axis and slid right in between the gap between the large and small birds. While in between she grabbed them and slammed their bodies into the ground. She gracefully landed on the rooftop.

"Don't ever mess with me or my Bluey." She snarled

Then Jewel heard a slow clapping. The female red colored macaw slowly walked towards her while serenading her with clapping wings.

"Well done, I'm honestly impressed blue bird." She chuckled.

"What do you want with me?" Jewel interrogated.

Ignoring her, the red macaw continued her little speech.

"Taking out two highly trained assassin's like that? We could really use you on our team. Too bad the boss wants you dead. Pity really." She smirked.

"Are you gonna come at me or not?" Jewel yelled.

"Oh, I don't have to."

Jewel turned around to see the large grey and little yellow bird again from a few moments ago. Just as they were about to pounce on her, a voice screamed from directly above them.

"Heeeeyyyy!"

Paris the Cuban macaw swooped down and punched the larger bird squarely on the face with his left talon. Paris and the big bird continued to fight.

"What's going on here!?" The little yellow bird asked to no one in particular.

Jewel took this chance and smacked the yellow bird in the gut. He wheezed and fell onto the ground. After taking care of the little nuisance, Jewel went to help Paris take down the goliath.

"What are you doing here Paris?" Jewel inquired while she and Paris rode on the back of the big bird like a jockey on a bull.

"I'm not stalking you if that's what you're asking." He replied.

"Its pretty convenient, that's all." She remarked.

"Hey, can we talk about this AFTER we defeat the big giant menacing bird, eh!?"

The goliath then whacked Paris off of him. Pairs skidded down the rooftop. Jewel proceeded to dig her talons into the back of the bird.

"Aaaahhhhh! Get her off Get her off!"

"Do I have to do everything myself?" The female red macaw sighed.

"No, you could quit. Make everything easier?" Paris remarked as he stood himself up and dusted himself off.

"Sorry buddy, not an option. The Vidori? We don't surrender." The red female macaw rebutted.

"The Vidori eh? Cool little club name. Lets hope you know how to loose then."

Paris darted towards his opponent as he curled his right wing and prepared to throw a punch. The female simply sidestepped out of the way.

"Nice try" She sneered.

Paris squinted in irritation.

He then shot up into the air. The female macaw followed him. They both outstretched their talons. Paris made a strike but the female defended and grabbed Paris' talon. She continued to start swinging him around in a circle like a lasso, and threw him towards a nearby lamp. Paris hit it face first, but quickly recovered. Seeing that his opponent was skilled at close combat, Paris strategically dive bombed. The female shot after him, and they continued in a midair dog-fight-like battle, with Paris evading his opponent and his opponent clumsily compensating.

"Hey come back and fight me like a bird!" She angrily barked.

"ok."

Paris stopped in mid flight and just watched as the female macaw shot right past him. She then collided right into the goliath bird, knocking the bird, herself, and Jewel on the ground in the process.

The three birds groaned on the floor.

"Yeah! Take that losers!" Paris shouted. He then quickly flew over to the female macaw and held her by the throat.

"Looks like you all DO know how to lose. Now lets see what's under that mask." Paris chuckled while gripping the black mask that hid the identity of the female macaw. But what happened next completely shocked him. Paris ripped off the mask of the bird and gasped.

"H-H-Helen!?"

A cold, hard metallic object collided with Paris' skull. The baffled bird fell unconscious.

* * *

**Well, looks like Paris has meet his long lost love. Not in the way he thought he would though I'm sure. Things are going to get more intense from here on out. The stakes are gonna be higher now that Xavier and his group, the Vidori, are more involved now. Sorry for not updating in a while, but I've been pretty preoccupied lately with school. However, I'll still strive to bring quality work! Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next update :)**

**-Egil**


	6. New Entry: Subject X-az76r

**User:** Marco_P

* * *

**Subject: **X-az76r

* * *

**Species:** E. roseicapilla

* * *

**Genus: **Eolophus; Bonaparte , 1854

* * *

**Family:** Cacatuidae

* * *

**Phylum :** Chordata

* * *

**Name:** [Name_Pending]

* * *

**Status:** Living

* * *

**Age:** [Bloodwork_Pending]

* * *

**Gender:** Male

* * *

**Pickup Location:** [REDACTED]

* * *

**Dropoff Location:** Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

* * *

**Additional Notes:**

e12278b - New subject [X-az76r] seems to be adjusting well considering the extensive damage to its nervous system. Unfortunately, an appendage was lost during the procedure and an artificial replacement is necessary. Interestingly the subject [X-az76r] appears to be demonstrating advanced traits, usually associated with large amounts of neural stimulation. Will continue to observe any, adverse or otherwise, symptoms of unusual behavior prior to reintegration.

e12278c - [REDACTED]

e12278d - hidzzo## 12205884 [ENCRYPTED]

e12278e - [IMAGE FILE CORRUPTED - PLEASE SEEK ADMIN ASSISTANCE]

e12278f - My results posted previously have defied all known data pertaining to this species. Starting to feel a connection with the subject [X-az76r], almost as if he knows what we are doing. Will continue to test bloodwork for more anomalies such as those outlined in entries e12278c and e12278f.

e12278g - [COMPONENTS OF THIS MESSAGE HAVE BEEN BLOCKED - PLEASE CONTACT ADMIN] azing as to how it is possible. We have named the subject [X-az76r] Xavier for easier communication. Xavier responds well to new name. Documentation regarding early tests has bee [COMPONENTS OF THIS MESSAGE HAVE BEEN BLOCKED - PLEASE CONTACT ADMIN]

e12278h - [The information in this entry has been deemed an infringement on personal property and removed on the basis of violation of privacy. Please contact the Xcore-Corporate-Legal, EPA, EU or FBI-US for further information regarding this case.]

e12278i - Over the course of the past few weeks, Xavier has made a full recovery. Despite my advice to the contrary, reintegration into forested region will begin on Thur. 9:30 AM Local Time. All paperwork has been completed. For documentation and legal purposes, it is important to note that my diagnosis, in addition to the consensus of my peers, was to perform further testing on subject and postpone reintegration.

* * *

**Transmissions, Sort by [Oldest-Newest]**

Subject Line: Hello

\- Hey Marco, its Janet from Pickup and Reintegration. I've got a new subject [X-az76r] for you. This one is a little different from the rest, so please be careful. k? You should have him in tomorrow.

Subject Line: Re:Lunch

\- Sure thing! Just leave it by my office tomorrow and I'll take a look at it.

Subject Line: Printer

\- Dr. Marco, this is Sean from maintenance. I would like to inform you that you must fill out an official printer repair form. Please go to Xcore's employee website, and under the "request repair" tab look for "printer_form". Please print this out and deliver it to your nearest supervisor.

Subject Line: Re:Subejct [X-az76r]

\- Dr. Marco, We appreciate your concern regarding Subject [X-az76r]. However, the bloodwork you received should be put under further scrutiny prior to making claims such as the ones you outlined. I would advise you continue your work on Subject [X-az76r] regardless. Also, we understand you are not an aviary doctor. You were chosen for your proven expertise in the field, among other reasons. Thank you, [REDACTED]

Subject Line: Re:Re:Re:Subject [X-az76r]

\- Dr. Marco, Like I previously stated, you may disregard Subject [X-az76r]'s bloodwork until I receive word back from the suits upstairs. I'm getting a lot of pressure from them to make sure this is done correctly, so please don't make me take you off the job.

Subject Line: Re:Request

\- Dr. Marco, Your request to "to perform further testing on subject and postpone reintegration" was denied. We will be in contact with you. Sincerely, Corporate

Subject Line: Dr. Marco P Official Letter of Discharge

\- Dr. Marco, it is with great sadness that I must inform you of your discharge. Rest assured, all personal files will be transferred to corporate and put under review. Your username and password have been suspended, and all rights to medical equipment have been revoked. We kindly ask that you take the next 12 hours to collect your personal items. We are sad to see you go, but have high hopes for your future and know you will succeed with whatever employment you seek. Sincerely, Corporate

Subject Line: Harvard School of Medicine

\- Mr. Marco, We apologize to inform you that due to your recent misconduct in the workplace with Xcore, the resulting legal proceedings have deemed that your PhD be revoked. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you, Harvard School of Medicine

Subject Line: [ENCRYPTED]

\- hey marco its me. if you really want to know whats going on with that bird, meet me 22.9068° S, 43.1729° W 5:00 pm. i promise it will be worth your while. oh, and make sure to bring that data with you like you promised.

* * *

**22.9068° S, 43.1729° W**

**5:00 PM Local Time**

A tall man by the name of Marco walked down a dark alleyway. The orange rays from the setting sun were shaved off by the buildings, making the alleys darker. The man held a cage with a cloth over it in his right hand. It was a little heavy, but he was too nervous to notice. As he passed a green door in the wall, a voice grumbled from the shadows.

"Hey, Marco right?"

"Y-yes?"

"Listen, don't be so scared. That's what they do. They try to scare you away from the truth."

The voice paused for a moment. The outside world was dark and quiet, but Marco could hear nothing but the tremulous drumming of his heart. He tried to swallow, but found no wave to wash down his throat. A puff of smoke was expelled from the darkness, and the voice continued.

"Ok, don't worry man. I got some guys that'll put this all behind you, k? We got dirt on them too you know. And trust me, what you have is worth it. But you know, first show me the bird."

Marco nervously placed the cage on the ground, his hands quaking, and pulled away the tarp. Inside the cage was a baby Gala Cokcatoo. It was missing a leg and had medical cloth wrapped around one wing. He shivered more than Marco as his plumage puffed out.

"Heh, yeah that's it alright. You did good doc, you did good. That's right, you got your title back. I have my guys fixing some records back at that stupid school you went to. Now, do us all a favor and go back to your home country?"

Marco was in disbelief, suspended in time.

"I-I, uh"

"And one more thing…" The voice added.

"Never work for Xcore unless you're comfortable with the uncomfortable."

Marco nodded slowly, and started backing away.

The man in the shadow chuckled.

"Now, let's see what you got."

...

"SIR!" Mikey yelled at his boss.

Xavier jumped a little as he was ripped from his thoughts.

"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU YELL AT ME!?" The Gala bellowed.

"Oh, sorry boss." Mikey peeped.

Xavier sighed.

"What was so important?"

Mikey cheered up.

"Well actually sir, it's about the plan." He said while raising a wing up as a professor does when he makes an important point in class.

Xavier grinned, "Yes?"

Mikey looked at something written in sharpie on his wing.

"Our guys are at 99% capacity."

"Really? Haha! The time has finally arrived!" Xavier boomed with joy.

"Oh sorry, my bad my bad. I meant 29%. The two got smudged a bit. Hehe"

"WHAT? THAT'S BEHIND SCHEDULE!" The Gala boomed as he grabbed Mikey by the scruff of his neck.

Xavier held up the bird and stared menacingly at him.

"Buuuuuuttttt, the good news is that the Vidori's efficiency have spiked by 77.4% since you took over!"

"ARG! Don't mock me with math!" The cockatoo yelled before throwing Mikey out the tree hollow.

"See you siiiirrrrrrrrr…"

Xavier turned around and walked to the back of his tree.

He stood in the darkness and thought…

...

The little baby Gala was thrown out of the cage which Marco had used to deliver him, and landed in a padded leather box. He stumbled up onto his talons (which was no easy feat as he was using a plastic makeshift leg) and examined his surroundings. He breathed heavily, his chest expanding and contracting at a pace which, he felt, was similar to that of the time it takes for a washing machine to make one rotation. A lid was put on the box, and the world dived into complete and utter darkness. For the next day he was bounced around quite a bit and, if he wasn't already, now completely disoriented. Finally, the movement stopped. Everything was still. Everything was quiet. However, the more he listened, the more he dreaded the world outside the box.

_It, it sounded like thunder. Shouting. Screaming. A cacophony of sound which was not previously apparent emanated from the silence._

_..._

Um, bossssssssss?

Xavier's pupils shrank.

"Yes?" He sighed.

The bird turned around to find Vinny and Anna standing behind him.

"Uh, you ok?" Vinny asked, tilting his head in a sympathetic manner.

Xavier opened his beak to speak, but nothing came out.

"Anottttthhhher flasssshhhhback? Anna inquired softly.

"Just, never mind. Please tell me something good." The cockatoo replied, shaking his head quickly as to throw off the thoughts which shrouded his mind.

"Actually, yeah we do." Vinny said, smirking.

"We got 'em."

* * *

**Yeah, it feels good to be back. I'll be focusing on Xavier's backstory a bit now. I'm also going to shed some light on the evil group known as the Vidori. But before you think things are too in favor of the dark side, remember that every yin has a yang. Thanks for reading everyone!**

**Egil out**


	7. Chapter 7: Caged in a Cage

**A/N: Ok, I know you are probably thinking "Egil, please stop adding new stuff and explain what's going on here!". I promise, I will start explaining everything now. Mark my words, you will know all about Xavier, the Vidori and how it all relates back to our blue friends. Without further ado, here is Chapter 7: Caged in a Cage**

"Oh man, that's the last time I drink and fly." Paris moaned as he sat up.

"Ouch"

He cringed as he felt pain singe from the back of his skull down his spine. The Cuban Red Macaw rubbed the back of his head and felt a swollen lump.

"Well that's not good." He mumbled while he exhaled deeply.

Paris managed to pull himself together, albeit a bit wobbly, and stood up to examine his surroundings. He noticed that four walls of metal bars imprisoned him. Trapped in a heavy duty bird cage was where he found himself, and the Macaw was not happy about it. Paris was so mad he almost didn't notice the blue mass on the cage floor, which was curled up near him.

"Jewel? You're here too?" Paris gasped.

"Ok, ok. What happened? Let's see." He thought aloud while crossing his wings, trying his best to remember how he got into a cage and blow off his irritation.

"I was flying, then I saw some birds fighting…oh wait! Helen!" Paris came to the shocking realization that someone had sneaked up on him after he found out that the masked bird was his long lost love.

"Whoever that jerk was that knocked me out…" Paris groused as his blood pressure spiked and his wings involuntarily curled.

"That would be Oliver. He's bad in hand to hand combat, but he doesn't need to be good." A red female macaw replied.

Paris lashed around and saw that a familiar macaw was standing outside the cage.

"YOU!" He barked.

The female macaw continued as if Paris hadn't said anything. She hid behind her wing with her eyes peeking over (like a vampire does with his cape).

"You'll never see him coming. He's like a ninja." When she said _ninja_, the red macaw jumped out and spread both of her wings to surprise Paris. Paris flinched a little out of instincts/reflexes.

The female giggled and winked at him before stepping back from the cage.

Paris was completely taken back by this. He opened his beak to speak, but was unable to form any coherent vibrations in the air.

The female macaw leaned more heavily on one leg and put a wing on her hip.

"You know, your fighting is pretty impressive scruffy. I actually enjoyed battling with you earlier. Of course, you were only one bird. And I had a whole Vidori shadow squad behind me. It should have been unfair, really. But you made it an actual challenge. You and that blue Giut of yours." She nodded her head, signaling she was referencing Jewel.

"Scruffy? Giut? H-Helen, what happened to you?" Paris answered in shock and dismay.

The red macaw was confused, and adjusted her posture to represent this. She lost her confident stance and folded her wings in front of her.

"Your feathers look scruffy. I mean, I'm not a mind reader. Had to call you something." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"The Giuts are the enemy of the Vidori, and who in the world is Helen?" She queried as she tilted her head.

"_How can she not remember?"_ Paris thought to himself. Of course, naturally one's thoughts move at a much slower pace than that of the real world. So this afforded Paris the leisure of some extended time to contemplate.

"_Maybe she's not her. I mean, really Paris, what are the chances? She WOULD remember. Even after all that happened, there's no way she would join some gang or even fight. I'll have to be careful here."_

"Oh, uh sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else I guess." Paris covered up.

"Hmmm. Well my name's Alex and –"

Alex was cut off by a sickly sounding moan.

"uhhhh" Jewel groaned on the floor.

"Blu, don't bring home anymore human food. K?" The blue macaw mumbled as she sat upright.

Jewel squinted in response the relatively bright light when compared to the inside of her eyelids.

"HEY! ITS YOU!" Jewel suddenly forgot her fatigue and shot up. She sprung towards the cage wall and grabbed the bars with her talons.

"I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO SHREDS! WHERES BLU!?" Jewel viciously screamed while frantically flapping her wings and shaking the bars of the cage.

Alex chuckled.

"Fighting time's over little one. While both of you have the drive, neither of you has the control. You must be able to have full control over one's emotions to win a fight and succeed in life." Alex said in a demeaning tone.

This only infuriated Jewel further.

"Like the way you lost to Paris!? Ha!" Jewel retorted, but started feeling her energy dissipate. The resurgence of pain from the recent fight zapped her energy.

"_Oh so that's scruffy's name then?"_ Alex thought to herself.

Paris started getting sick of all this.

"Hey listen, are you going to let us out of here or are we gonna have to pry this cage open?" The male macaw inquired, while stiffening his posture and puffing his chest slightly.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry scruffy, you'll get out for your initiation."

She stated and turned her back to the two trapped bird. Alex began walking away into the forest.

"But I serve Karma. Mother nature is my superior. We keep the balance…an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

She turned her head to the side so her body was facing away from them but they were visible in her peripheral vision.

"A life, for a life."

* * *

**Voices fade in and out of the darkness**

…

"You think he's going to be ok?"

…

"The blue guy has neurotoxin in him! Get the med supplies!"

…

"Hey, hey! He's breathing! The blue guy is breathing!"

…

"I got a pulse! The bird's gonna be OK!"

…

_*Whisper* "Don't worry blue guy, the Giuts_ _will keep you safe"_

* * *

**Sometime in the** **past**

The loud sound of thunder assaulted the baby cockatoo's eardrums. Suddenly, the lid to the box was lifted. The world which he was encapsulated in was now opened. Giant hands reached into the box and lifted him up. Flashes of light and applause beamed from all around the bird. The hands which held him led up to a large man. The man was smiling. He looked very happy.

"Sir, sir!" A woman yelled at the man. She was holding a cylinder.

"News Channel 14, what do you have to say about the astonishing rate at which animals are smuggled now?"

"_Wait, now she is shoving the cylinder up to the man's face. The man is actually talking INTO the rod. What's wrong with humans? Now he looks very solemn, what happened to the happiness?"_ The cockatoo thought to himself.

"Well, it's really a shame. It's very, very sad to see animals abused and mistreated like this. But on behalf of the EPA, I promise that this little guy, and all the other abused critters like him, will be treated with compassion."

"_Ok, now this crazy woman is holding the rod in front of her face. Are they eating it? No, they're just talking to it. Man, I don't get people. Now she's looking into a black rectangle with a glass hole in it."_

"You heard it here folks, the Rio Zoo's new animal habitat is open and ready to help animals like this one. Thanks for watching News Channel 14, your hometown source for new news."

"_Woah, now he's moving. Man this big guy can walk. Ok we're going into a door. Scratch that, went through a door. AHH not another box!"_

The man placed Xavier into a cage.

"_Well, at least this one has fresh air."_ The baby bird shrugged.

"Ok, you two get along well now. Ok?" The man said before locking the cage and leaving.

"Two?" Xavier peeped in fear.

He slowly turned around to see a hulking figure moving towards him from the shadows.

"_Nonononononononononno, I'm too young to die!"_ Xavier panicked in his thoughts.

He backed up at the same rate the figure approached. He retreated until he hit the cage bars.

"Well, this is it." He gulped and cringed as he slammed his eyes shut.

"Hey there!" A voice rang.

"AH!" Xavier screamed, trying to shield himself with his one good wing.

But he soon found that no harm came to him.

The Galah slowly lowered his defense. To his surprise, standing right in front of him was a young Sulphur-crested cockatoo. He seemed to be about Xavier's age.

"I said hey there. Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." The bird apologized.

"Hey listen." He said leaning in towards Xavier.

"To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth strength,

Gives in your weakness strength unto your foe,

And so your follies fight against yourself."

"That's what Shakespeare wrote in 'The Life and Death of Richard the Second', Act 3, Scene 2! Just remember that whenever you're scared, ok?" The cockatoo chirped excitedly.

"Shake-what? Who are you?" Xavier inquired.

"Shakespeare! Sounds like shakes and peer. Name's Nigel my friend." Nigel said extending a wing.

Xavier accepted it and shook back.

Nigel became ecstatic and beamed.

"We're going to be best friends! I just know it! You and me till the end!" Nigel joyously added.

"O-ok!" Xavier nervously, but happily, answered and laughed a bit afterwards.

"_No one's really ever wanted to be my friend before."_

"Perfect! You will be the Richard Burbage to my William Shakespeare, together nothing will stop us! And when I die, I'll give you money to buy a mourning ring." Nigel chuckled.

"Whats that?" Xavier replied, somewhat confused as to what in the world Nigel was talking about.

Nigel and Xavier bonded in that moment. They formed a brotherly connection that would last a lifetime. But the strength of their bond would be tested. For now, though, the two children enjoyed each other's company. And it was the best thing that ever happened to them.

* * *

**A/N: I think this is a good stopping point. Still a bunch of questions, but they will be answered in due time. At this point, we have three stories going on. First, its Jewel and Paris at the Vidori camp. Second, its "the blue guy" (yeah you know who) which will be expanded upon next. Third, it's the backstory for Xavier. Like I said, a lot to cover. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews. And as usual, thanks for reading!**

**Egil Out!**


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